Thursday, May 31, 2018

Keeping it Real

This is the time of year when every minute seems a gift. Which means its not always an easy decision to go birding. But now and then you take a break from your own drama, look around, and catch a moment of small, feathered life unfolding.

Eastern Towhees are commonplace on Cushings Island

I watched this male Least Tern wave a sand eel he'd caught for about ten minutes before the female dropped into the cup of sand beneath her and accepted his offering, allowing him to finally perch himself on her back.

Least Terns courting

Black-bellied Plover

6 Snowy Egrets and a Little Blue Heron flying back to Stratton Island for the night

My neighbor called me over and said there was a bird in her garage. I joked it was probably something super rare...and then immediately recognized that it was a bird I'd never seen before! I caught it by hand, and put it in a box to release in the nearby woods, and rushed to get my camera, but when we opened the box, it was empty. There were two small holes at either end of the box, and it must have flown to the light and escaped. I was bummed not to get a photo. On a chance, tried playback into a likely tangle of brush. Serendipitously, it popped back into view, already recovered from its harrowing experience with humans and munching on a caterpillar. The light was terrible, hence the poor quality photos.